Imagination and Gun Powder
by RorschachinBlueJeans
Summary: Roanne is a Beta Game Tester who due to random circumstances gets caught up with a man named Joey Trent and his work as an arms dealer. Problem is, once she is in will she even want out? Or will she try her best to stay by Joey's side? Rated M for mature content and possible future triggers. Joey/OC


Disclaimer: I do not own The Man except in DVD form.

A/N: For the very few including my dearest muse whom I do not speak to nearly enough, who has read the first chapter of my original story on fictionpress called Coffee Shop Connections, may find some similarities. That's because I'm giving up on the original story. Joey in my story was based off of Joey Kane in the movie in the looks department and I can't stop thinking of how the story would go if I had it going in the movie and all of my ideas about the story centered around that from then on. So here is a rewrite of the first chapter with Joey Kane's personality in the mix as well as his looks.

 _Roanne's Thoughts_

Roanne's POV

Roanne Tryland sat in a crowded Starbucks, occupying one of the many tables in the hectic, over-priced coffee shop. She was spending some of the time she had off from her game testing job to update some of her copious amounts of fanfiction she had written. She was listening to Believer by Imagine Dragons when a grey suit clad arm waved in front of her face. She pulled out an earbud and looked to her right to find a man with barely there blonde hair and an attractive amount of stubble.

"Yes?" The man looked her over, making her look down at herself. She had decided on a Joker theme that day, dark purple tank top with a dark green plaid long sleeve button up, split color dark green and purple skinny jeans, Joker decal converse and a necklace that had a Joker card pendant. She looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow, getting a little annoyed at his silence. He wisely said nothing about her outfit.

"I was wondering if you were willing to share your table, since no other seats are open." She inhaled sharply. Oh dear Frigg he just had to have a British accent. Roanne ignored that and swept her hand over to the other seat in a 'I could give a shit less' motion. He nodded his head, pulling out his laptop and start it up before he leaves it on the table while he goes to order. This would surprise her if the shop wasn't so crowded that she could never get away with it unseen, especially with how colorful her outfit was. She continued her updates and listening to music while he was gone, then they both worked in silence after he returned. As the first one to enter, she was the first to leave with a nod in his direction after she packed up to go. He gave a nod of his own and went back to working on whatever he had up on his screen.

A few days later Roanne had had a rather uneventful day of discussing the next game they will be given to check for glitches so she decided to end her day with some more chapters and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. She walked into her usual Starbucks to see all the tables taken and the majority of them full. She looks around and quirks a small smile when she sees her old table partner with a free seat and decides since it worked before maybe he won't mind sharing again. He must see her in his peripheral vision because he looks up when she approaches. He speaks before Roanne does.

"Need a seat?" She smiles.

"Yeah, it is crowded as usual." He copies her sweeping motion from last time and she copies his setting up the computer and going to order. Another difference outside of him being there first was the colors of their outfits. His suit was black with a red button up underneath and she went with a black and white theme today. Black and white striped long sleeve shirt, split leg black and white skinny jeans, black high tops and a pewter Loki pendant for the necklace. She grabbed her usual Venti French Vanilla coffee and went back to her seat. The man she had dubbed Table Partner glanced up briefly but went back to what he was doing. It was another afternoon filled with silence between them outside of the clicking of keys. Surprisingly she was first to leave, both giving the same acknowledgement as before and she went on her way.

A week later Starbucks was again crowded and Table Partner decided to join Roanne again. She gave him a wave when he walked over, and he nodded as he sat across from her once again. She waited till he was back with his drink before actually speaking this time around.

"The name's Roanne." Table Partner looked up slightly startled. After a moment he seemed to pull himself and answered her.

"Joey." She nodded and went back to her computer, leaving it at that.

Joey's POV

To say that Joey was annoyed with how crowded Starbucks was, was an understatement but it meant that less people would think he was doing anything illegal. He looked around and only saw one seat open across from… A Joker fangirl apparently. The only thing that was not Joker-centric was her long brown hair. He sighed, preparing for a possible Harley Quinn or Joker wannabe and walks over. He stands next to her and when she doesn't notice him he waved a hand in front of her face. She turned toward him and pulled out an earbud. "Yes?" He looked her over again and debated whether he really was willing to sit across from her. During his debate she looked down at herself and then looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He decided he might as well chance it.

"I was wondering if you would be willing to share your table since no other seats are open." She took in a sharp breath for some reason, then swept her arm toward the empty seat in invitation. He nodded then pulled out his laptop and left it to boot up while he went to order. He only left it with her since she couldn't get away with an extra laptop without being noticed. When he returned they worked in silence until she left, nodding her head in acknowledgement of his presence and he returned the gesture.

A few days later Joey decided that he wanted to get out and decided to return to the crowded cafe. When he got there it wasn't as crowded and he was able to get a table to himself. It got more crowded as he worked and soon he saw a vision of black and white coming toward him. He looked up to see the girl who had shared his table a few days prior. He speaks before she can. "Need a seat?" She gives him a small smile as she answer.

"Yeah, it is crowded as usual." He decides to copy her previous sweeping motion with a smirk and she put her laptop down to start up while she went to order like he had done the last visit. It was a strange reverse, but when she returned he glanced up briefly then they went back to working silently. He was a little curious as to what she was doing on her computer, but not enough to break the silence and distract himself from his own work. She again was the first to leave and gave him the same acknowledgement as before and went on her way. Joey would admit he was slightly intrigued by the girl who had sat across from him twice now, but wasn't yet sure if he cared enough to investigate. He would decide later.

A week later Joey again went to the crowded Starbucks and saw only the seat across from the girl open. Today they matched, both wearing grey and green. He was starting to wonder if someone up above was trying to send him a sign. He snorted and pushed that thought aside as ludacris and walked over to her table. She gave him a wave and he gave her a nod as he walked over and took the seat across form her. He went to grab his drink and came back as usual and got to work. After a few minutes he was startled by her voice.

"The name's Roanne." He stared at her for a moment before he pulled himself together and answered.

"Joey." The newly dubbed Roanne nodded and went back to work. Well that was new.


End file.
